Client: undisclosed
Form: boardgame, tabletop roleplaying game
What I did: Pitched several tabletop game prototypes for a museum of boardgames project. Developed four prototype boardgames from accepted pitches. Fully developed one of those pitches, Palimpsest, which was to be produced for the project.
Team size: myself
Tools: Adobe/Affinity publishing tools, paper prototyping, physical production, Google Docs
I was approached to work as one of several tabletop game developers to design games for an upcoming project. I pitched several games for the project, with four of them being chosen for further development. I created prototypes of those four games, including creating physical versions of the games to be tested by the projects team. One of those games, Palimpsest, was chosen to be produced. I created and play-tested several prototypes of the game, before creating a final version for production. The project was unfortunately cancelled, though the game reached a fairly late stage of development. The games I worked on were:
Palimpsest
Palimpsest is a boardgame of language, modification and permeance played on an eternally changing document. At the centre of the game is the text, a page of writing that players use and change to try and win various mini-games. The mini-games might have them argue over facts, create poetry, race to find the letters, or draw marginalia. In doing so, they change the text, altering it for all future games.
Desert of Glass
Desert of Glass is a co-operative boardgame about crossing a great, glass desert. Players try to guide their group to the City, dealing with challenges at each location along the way. They’ll have to scout routes, manage supplies and make decisions as they’re faced with all kinds of challenges – from discovering strange, humming obelisks to negotiating with buried titans.
Skulk & Scavenge
Skulk & Scavenge is a tabletop roleplaying game about a crew of animals doing a heist in a city built for humans. Each player plays as a member of the crew, choosing what kind of animal they are and their role on the team. The game is designed to be GM-less and fast-paced. It includes a couple of decks of cards – one for NPCs that you might bump into, the other to present twists for when things go wrong.
Heavenscent
Heavenscent is a tabletop roleplaying game about a force of disharmony disrupting the realms of the gods. Each player plays as an agent of one of those gods. As you play, you draw a shared map together, showing the world your patrons have created and the ruin the disharmony brings. Heavenscent was perhaps the most experimental of the games, blending elements of the Quiet Year with Pandemic, along with having a series of mechanics based on scents.
